Where to Start When Choosing a Leadership Training Program

As this year winds down, you’re probably starting to think about what 2023 will bring and how you can help your team meet the challenges ahead. As a leader, you play an important role in ensuring that your team is ready to tackle current and future challenges. You may also have heard from your team members that they want more training and development opportunities. But with so many options available, how can you identify the right leadership development solutions? Today I’m kicking off a series of articles about how to do just that.

This week, we’ll focus on understanding what your team needs. With so many fires to put out every day, it may have been a while since you holistically assessed how your team is doing. By pausing to do so now you, you can make a more informed choice when it comes time to select leadership development training. Give yourself some time to think through these seven questions.

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1. What has your team been through in the past year? What are they going through right now? Changes and challenges have been coming so rapidly that you may have lost track of everything that has happened. How have economic changes, technological disruptions and societal disruptions affected your organization and your team?

2. Are you seeing signs of stress and burnout? If you notice that your team members are making more mistakes or missing deadlines, you may assume that some are underperformers or that they’re “quiet quitting.” But such behaviors can also be a sign that they’re overwhelmed with stress and fatigue. Burnout rates just keep rising, so it’s essential for all leaders to recognize the signs and symptoms of burnout on their team.

3. How are your team members showing up? Observe your team members in different situations. Every interaction either elevates or diminishes their individual leadership brands. Are they sending messages that align with who they want to be?

4. How are your team’s relationships? To succeed, your team members need strong networks. But, for many people, relationship building suffers when they get busy or when they work remotely. Is everyone just keeping their head down to get things done? Or are they cultivating relationships with each other, with colleagues in other departments and with leaders at different levels?

5. How are your team members communicating? One of the most important leadership skills for your team members to develop is the ability to communicate with influence and impact. How would you describe each person’s communication style and approach? Do you see any common themes? Pay special attention to whether your team members become less-effective communicators when they are stressed out.

6. Are your team members focused on the right work? With everyone so busy, knowing how to manage your energy and capacity is an essential skill. Do your team members prioritize the work that will have the most impact? Or do they seem distracted and scattered?

7. Beyond what we have already covered, what other themes do you notice?

What’s Ahead in This Series

I hope that this exercise has given you a clearer picture of what’s going on with your team now and the biggest needs a leadership program should address. In upcoming articles, I’ll talk more about defining the outcomes you want from leadership training and what effective leadership training looks like. In the meantime, explore one of our newest leadership development solutions, the award-winning app New Lens. It focuses on areas where people get stuck and strategies that drive high performance, and is designed to fit into tight schedules and build relationships in the process. Schedule a demo now.

Five Things Employees Want from Their Leaders

Have you heard the old saying that “employees leave managers, not companies”? As turnover rates remain elevated (one in five employees said they were extremely or very likely to leave their companies this year), the stakes are high for developing the kind of leaders that employees don’t want to leave. But what do employees actually want from their leaders? This list will give you some insight and aligns with what I see as an executive coach time and again.

Photo by Rebrand Cities

Appreciation

According to a survey by McKinsey & Company, employers underestimate how much employees want to feel valued by both their manager and their organization. They also underestimate how much feeling valued affects whether employees stay with the company. Providing the appreciation that employees crave doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming. Here’s one idea you can start using right away: Start your next team meeting by asking people to share their recent successes or what’s been going well so that you can all celebrate your wins together. This doesn’t take long, and it makes people feel good as they start noticing what they’re actually getting done. Bonus: Besides giving your team members a lift, this appreciation exercise also gives you more information and insight about what is working well with your team.

Clarity

A survey of 1,000 U.S. workers about communication issues that hamper leadership found something striking: 57% of respondents complained that their leaders do not give clear directions. That was the second-most-cited issue in the whole survey. As an executive coach, I have also personally observed this. I frequently hear from employees who get frustrated because their bosses don’t set clear expectations for their work or define what success looks like for their roles. In addition to sharing this information, it also important to “connect the dots”: Explain the reasons behind your actions, questions, or decisions so that others understand what you are thinking. As Brene Brown says, “Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.”

Feedback

Employees want to know how they are doing and expect their leaders to tell them. Even if it might be hard to hear in the moment, most of us value getting practical, actionable feedback. However, a Gallup survey found that only about one in four employees strongly agrees that the feedback they get helps them be better at their job. If you always dread offering performance feedback, it can help to reframe how you think about it. Approach feedback with a spirit of generosity. You're not being the "bad guy" by criticizing. Instead, you're giving the employee valuable information to help them be successful. Wouldn't you be grateful if someone took the time to tell you what you should know?

Learning and Growth

Employees want leaders to care about their growth and development. Providing feedback is part of that, but so are recommending employees for training opportunities, delegating with growth in mind and exploring new ways your organization can promote ongoing learning. These efforts will pay off in engagement and retention. In a 2019 survey, 94% of employees said they would stay at their company longer if it invested in helping them learn. A study that year by Sitel Group found that 92% of U.S. employees said that learning increases their engagement and motivation at work.

Respect

There’s one critical factor that trumps everything else: respect. If you remember just one thing from this article, remember that employees want their leaders’ respect. In her research, Christine Porath, an associate professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, found that treating employees with respect outweighs all else when it comes to making a leader successful. “No other leadership behavior had a bigger effect on employees across the outcomes we measured,” she wrote in Harvard Business Review.

What Can You Do?

As a leader, how are you doing across these areas? How is your organization’s leadership doing as a whole? What are the top one or two biggest opportunities to improve? Remember that Newberry Solutions has resources that can help you, including the award-winning New Lens app, our program to develop effective leaders at all levels in a way that is affordable and scalable. We would love to help you determine if it’s a fit. Schedule a demo now.

5 Reasons Team Members Underperform

It’s an issue every leader deals with at one time or another: You’re working to cultivate a high-performing team, but not everyone is delivering at the level you need them to. One way this has shown up recently is the phenomenon of “quiet quitting,” or doing only the bare minimum to get by.

The first step to address underperformance is determining why it’s happening. You can use the five questions below as a diagnostic tool to figure out what’s really at the root of their underperformance. 

Photo by Mizuno K.

1. Is Burnout Causing Underperformance?

Burnout was already a big problem before the pandemic. But over the past couple of years, the burnout crisis has gotten even worse. If a team member’s work isn’t measuring up, the first question you should consider as a leader is whether the employee is experiencing burnout. Besides declining work quality, other signs of burnout include fatigue and low energy, seeming “checked out” or saying negative or cynical things about their job. Can you identify what might be causing the employee’s burnout? For example, maybe they haven’t taken time off this year, or they’ve had more and more duties added to their plate. Whatever the cause, a burnt-out employee can’t become more effective until the two of you address their fatigue and stress. Check out my article “Five Ways to Reduce Burnout in Your Team” for more ideas.

2. Are You Setting Clear Expectations?

Another common reason why employees don’t succeed is that they don’t understand what success looks like. Have you given them a clear picture of how you define high performance? Help your team members understand what their top priorities are, how they should spend their time and energy and how they can work successfully with you.

3. Is There a Learning Curve?

An employee might be underperforming simply because they are new on the job and are still mastering everything it entails. This is especially true if the onboarding process at your company has suffered due to lean staffing, heavier workloads or hybrid work. Even veteran employees who are taking on new responsibilities might experience a learning curve.

4. Do Employees Lack Skills or Expertise?

Your employee might be underperforming because their strengths don’t align with their current project or the way that their job has evolved. As technology accelerates change, that’s understandable. Our careers today require ongoing training and learning. But there’s a gap between what employees want and what companies are offering. (You can read more about this in Newberry Solutions’ free white paper, “Leadership Development for a Changing World.”)

5. Is the Employee the Wrong Fit?

This is probably one of the most painful causes of underperformance, but also one of the most important to address. Sometimes an employee just isn’t aligned with what’s important to your team or organization. As a leader, you can help the employee understand your workplace culture and priorities and find ways they can adapt their style or approach. But for employees who can’t or don’t want to change, everyone might be happier with a parting of the ways.

This week, identify one of these areas to explore as you work with an underperforming employee. As you develop your team members, our award-winning app New Lens can be a valuable tool. New Lens can teach your team members how to manage their capacity, focus on the right work, align with you as their manager and build their skills in a way that works with their schedule. Schedule your free demo now.

How to Create ‘Growth in the Flow of Work’

For a long time, there’s been a gap between the development opportunities that employees want and what companies actually offer. Amid the Great Resignation, closing that gap has taken on greater urgency. Employees are more likely to stick with an organization that helps them grow. But with so many development options and strategies to choose from, which approaches actually get results? That’s an important question for everyone from company executives and HR departments to team leaders and individual contributors.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

And a recent report from analyst Josh Bersin has a clear answer. “A New Strategy For Corporate Learning: Growth In The Flow Of Work” has insights that will help you whether you are thinking about learning strategies for your organization, team, or your own development. Here’s what stood out to me from the Bersin report and some ideas for how to put these findings into action.

What Kind of Development Drives Results?

According to “Growth in the Flow of Work,” these are the learning and development areas that have the biggest impact on business results:

• Career growth programs

• Leadership development 

• A culture of learning

• L&D innovation

With my focus on leadership development, I want to share a few of Bersin’s insights in that area:

Developing leaders at all levels. As an executive coach, I’ve seen that, all too often, organizations invest in leadership training for senior leaders and high potentials, but overlook other employees. That damages an organization’s leadership pipeline. Research has revealed new managers felt unprepared for leadership roles. In fact, more than 60% failed within their first couple of years on the job. “This is because many first-time supervisors are thrown into the deep end of the pool, with little guidance or direction, and with little or no formal training in leadership skills,” leadership coach and facilitator Steven Howard writes. 

Teaching leaders to develop others. One of leaders’ most important jobs is helping others achieve their full potential — in other words, developing future leaders. When leaders are skilled at teaching and coaching, it makes development accessible to more employees. It also makes development more effective because it’s relevant to each employee’s work. As the report puts it: “Yes, we each need granular skills to do our jobs. But we can’t really use these skills, hone them, or apply them unless we have context, experiences, mentoring, and wisdom.” To learn more about how leaders can develop team members, check out my articles “How to Stop Fixing and Start Coaching” and “Put Your Coaching Skills to Work.”

Giving leaders ‘Power Skills.’ Bersin defines Power Skills as behavioral skills such as adaptability, time management and communication. Power Skills are the most important skills for driving business results, but they are also more complex to teach than technical skills. I have some articles that can help you with this area, too, whether you are helping others develop their Power Skills or cultivating your own:

• “Making the Most of Transition”

• “How to Lead With Purpose and Have More Impact”

• “Stop Clashes That Stall Your Team”

• “Communicating From a Position of Strength”

• “5 Ways to Feed Your Creativity”

I encourage you to read the full “Growth in the Flow of Work” report and think about how its findings apply to your career and your organization. How can you start weaving more learning and development into daily work experiences? 

It’s exciting to see that our learning platform, New Lens, is aligned with the ideas in the Bersin report. News Lens allows you to deliver the coaching and connection that employees crave, and seamlessly fits into the workday with bite-size lessons and practical action steps. We would love to support your company. Schedule a New Lens demo now.

Five Ways to Reduce Burnout in Your Team

Burnout has become an even bigger issue in the workplace in recent years. 

In a survey of over 1000 respondents by Deloitte, 77% say they have experienced burnout at their current job.  Though the term is often used casually, burnout is a real, serious condition that can impact an individual's physical and mental health, job performance, and personal relationships. 

Photo by ANTONI SHKRABA production

Let’s discuss strategies to reduce burnout. Here are five things you can do:

1. Prioritize your team's well-being. 

Make sure your team members have the resources they need to stay healthy and balanced. This includes things like mental health support, adequate rest and breaks, and ways to escalate their concerns to you or others on the team.

2. Set clear expectations. 

Your team should know what is expected of them and how their work fits into the big picture. Make sure roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, and that everyone understands the company's goals and objectives, and your biggest priorities.

3. Look at workloads. 

Are your team members being asked to do too much? Take a close look at workloads to see if there are any areas where you can lighten the load. This might involve redistributing work, hiring additional staff, or establishing more realistic deadlines.

4. Look at how people are working.

Are your team members working in a way that is sustainable? Encourage and help them to adopt healthy work habits, such as taking regular breaks, setting boundaries between work and personal time, and using vacation days. You also have to role model what you expect. Otherwise, your team will follow your lead.

5. Invest in leadership development. 

Help your team members develop core leadership skills so they can work smarter, not harder. It will help them take on their work without feeling as overwhelmed. If you haven’t seen New Lens®, our holistic solution for leadership development, it was designed for this exact need.

By taking these steps, you can help reduce burnout in your team and create a more positive, productive work environment.

Newberry Solutions in Forbes

If you follow me on LinkedIn, you know that I’ve become a regular contributor to Forbes through the Forbes Coaches Council. I love being part of this because it allows Newberry Solutions to have a bigger impact by sharing our proven strategies on a broader platform. 

Today I want to share the recent advice and insights that I and other coaches have shared. If any of these articles leave you wanting to learn more, you’ll also find links to additional resources from this blog.

Shift to a Positive Mindset

In the article “15 Hacks For Pessimists To Switch To A More Positive Point Of View,” I talked about how to notice your thoughts and feelings to recognize and combat your negative self-talk.

Learn more: “How to Stop the Loop of Negative Self-Talk.”

Cope with Change

We’ve all had to become more adaptable over the past few years. In the article “14 Coaches Explore What It Looks Like To Become An ‘Agile’ Leader, “ I stressed the importance of staying centered amid change.

Learn more: “5 Sure-Fire Ways to Get Centered Fast.”

Practice Empathy

Success is about relationships, and that includes relationships with customers or clients. So the topic “16 Ways To Treat Customers Like Humans Instead Of Numbers” is an important one.

Learn more: “Are You Being Strategic About Relationships?”

Network Effectively

What’s the best way to introduce yourself at your next networking event? I explain in the article  “14 Steps To Take A Networking Pitch To The Next Level.”

Learn More: “Networking for Results.”

Avoid DEI Mistakes

“11 Potentially Brand-Damaging Mistakes Corporations Make With DEI Initiatives” is a timely topic as more organizations put a stronger emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion. As I point out in this article, commitments and allocation of resources must be aligned.

Learn more: “5 Eye-Opening Findings on Women at Work.”

Support Mental Health for All

Along with DEI, companies are also increasing attention on employee well-being. As the article  “How C-Level Leaders Can Address The Mental Health Needs Of Underserved Demographics” points out, this requires more than a one-size-fits-all approach. Different cultures in the workplace have different attitudes about seeking help with mental health.

Learn more: “What is Silencing? (And Why Your Company Must Care About It).”

Speak Up

Introverts have so much value to add to the workplace. The tips from me and other coaches in the article “How More Reserved Employees Can Make Their Voices Heard” will help you bring that value in a way that works for you.

Learn more: “Are You Keeping Your Gold Mine of Ideas to Yourself?”

Talk Face to Face

There’s a lot to navigate in this new world of hybrid work, including the best forms of communication in different situations. The article “14 Examples Where In-Person Communication Is Better Than Virtual At Work” is a guide that all leaders can use.

Learn more: “How to Deliver Tough Messages.”

Protect Your Capacity

Saying “yes” to everything has a cost. If you tend to keep your plate too full, check out the article “16 Ways Professionals Can Avoid Overcommitting Themselves At Work.”

Learn more: “4 Ways to Keep Your Busy Life from Taking Over.”

Keep this roundup as a valuable resource for you, and share it with others. If these Forbes Coaches Council articles have you curious about what coaching can do for you or your organization, I invite you to explore our products and services, including the New Lens app. New Lens can help you bring the power of coaching to more employees, even when budgets and schedules are tight. Set up a demo now.

One of the Fastest Ways to Have a Bigger Impact

Most of the go-getters I work with rarely celebrate success – and I’ve been just as guilty over the years. I remember the first time I was honored by the Dallas Business Journal with a Women in Business Award. I barely told anyone, let alone invite them to celebrate with me at the awards luncheon. 

Photo by Anna Shvets

As someone who belongs to a family of overachievers with tremendous resilience, I got so used to expecting a lot of myself. And my career choices continued to reinforce this. In my 14 years working at Deloitte, I was surrounded by smart, competitive, capable people. So, it was easy to say, “What’s the big deal?” when I accomplished something significant.  Like many of my high-performing clients, my definition of “average” performance became skewed. 

So, what’s at stake if I (or you) let a “check-the-box-and-move-on” approach continue? Simply put, others can’t fully tap into the power of your strengths, and you miss the opportunity to have a bigger impact. In other words, there is tremendous value for others when you truly notice and “own” your strengths. When you begin to see what you do well and how you consistently do it, you can be more intentional about leveraging your strengths and can teach others the same skills. 

Noticing your strengths is key to creating a bigger ripple effect.  In fact, that is why we make it easy for you to identify them in New Lens®, our online leadership development solution. 

How to Notice Your Accomplishments

A simple way to start noticing the value you bring is by tracking your accomplishments. The process doesn’t have to be time-consuming or complicated. Simply take five to 10 minutes per week to write down any accomplishments. For each one, list its impact (i.e., the “So what?”). And remember not to judge yourself too harshly; include the smaller things, too.

For example, you might include an introductory meeting that you had with someone who is important to a project you are working on. On the surface, it may seem insignificant. But when you really think about the impact, that one meeting may have set the stage for smooth collaboration with a department critical to your project’s success. 

As you continue to capture your accomplishments day after day, you will start to see how much you are getting done and what you do well. This will not only affect your confidence but also make it easier to share your results with others to build more visibility and credibility. And don’t forget to celebrate your successes to take it one step further.

For more strategies to help you or your employees be successful, schedule a demo of New Lens.. It makes learning digestible through bite-sized lessons that you can access anytime anywhere and a collaborative approach to foster deeper learning and stronger relationships.

Newberry Solutions Turns 14

If you had asked me in early 2008 whether I would have my own business later that year, I would have called you crazy. Fourteen years later, I have to say that entrepreneurship has been challenging and rewarding. This month marks a major milestone because Newberry Solutions has been in business for the same amount of time that I worked at Deloitte!

A lot has changed during this timeframe, but our focus on passion and purpose remains constant. And I’m confident those two things will carry us forward as we build the next generation of high-impact, high-performing leaders — especially women. 

Coming from an Indian family full of high expectations and overachievers, it’s been a lifelong journey to take time to notice and celebrate accomplishments. If you struggle with celebrating your own successes, it might be a good exercise for you to make a list of them and notice what you’ve learned along the way. 

Here are a few bits of advice from my personal experience.

Tap Into the Power of Your Passion

When I founded this company, I knew I loved to develop high performers and that I needed a change. The intensity of the travel and work made it hard for me to show up in my life in the way that I wanted to, especially with my 2-year-old son. So, I decided to pursue my passion in a different way.

Starting Newberry Solutions was a mixed bag of excitement and unexpected twists and turns, such as the Great Recession and Hurricane Ike (I was Houston-based at the time). Reminding myself of the purpose and passion behind my business fueled me then and continues to do so today. In fact, it helped me work through two major challenges in 2020: the pandemic and a breast cancer diagnosis. 

Find Ways to Increase Your Impact

In my first few years in business, I underestimated the power of my strengths – which is ironic since I constantly coach leaders on how to tap into theirs. Once you notice what you do well and how you consistently do it, you can leverage your strengths to create a bigger ripple effect. 

We’ve figured out what helps us develop strong leaders, and more than 75% of our clients get promoted. Now if that isn’t motivation to have a broader reach, I don’t know what is! 

That type of impact has led us down a path I never expected – developing software. In this challenging business environment, we want to provide creative solutions. Coaching is a powerful solution but not easy to scale affordably. But through technology you can scale what makes coaching work. That’s the secret sauce behind New Lens®, our online platform designed to bring the benefits of coaching to more leaders and make leadership development more affordable and accessible to all levels.  

We’re on the path to success with several Fortune 500 clients, so please reach out if you want to see if New Lens can help your company.

Be Intentional

At Newberry Solutions, we focus on what gives us positive energy and have used that to guide our evolution. What brings you joy? If you’ve lost sight of it, it may be time to recharge and reflect. 

One thing that brings me joy is to make a difference by thinking and playing big. This is reflected in the Fortune 500 and global brands we serve and the platforms like the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Fast Company that we use to share leadership strategies and tools. 

But our success at Newberry Solutions isn’t all about us. We are all about using our skills and experience to elevate others and give back. As a member of the board and the Orchid Giving Circle at Texas Women’s Foundation, I’m so proud of the POWER Leadership Forum we hosted to develop the next generation of AAPI women and support nonprofits (engaging over 800 women and raising almost $600,000 in grants since 2021). My passion also extends to United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, the Jane Nelson Institute for Women's Leadership at Texas Woman’s University, and the George W. Bush Presidential Center Women’s Initiative Fellowship Program.

Smell the Roses

While I’ve learned from the challenges over the past 14 years, the high points —including the invitation to join the Forbes Coaches Council and multiple awards (from the Stevie Awards for Women in Business and Dallas Business Journal, among others) — continue to motivate me to reach higher because they signal that something is working.

Today, it seems even harder to predict what lies ahead. But I do know this: If we continue to move toward our vision one step at a time, we will see big results. I believe that for my business. And I believe that for you, too. 

To Prevent Burnout, Do a Midyear Check-in

Can you believe we are already halfway through 2022? We’ve all been navigating a lot of change for a couple of years now, and that change shows no signs of slowing down.

That means it’s more important than ever to work mindfully and to take care of yourself. When you’re always charging full steam ahead, you’re risking burnout.

Photo by Anna Shvets

So let’s pause for a moment so you can check in with yourself and recalibrate. If you’re a regular reader, you know that I always recommend doing this at the end of each year. But in the intense work environment we’re currently experiencing, a lot may have changed for you in these past six months. And you may need to shift your game plan from the one you started the year with. The following questions can help you assess the best way forward.

Where Are You Right Now?

Sometimes it’s hard to look up from your daily responsibilities to see the big picture at work — or even how you are doing yourself. But you’ll be more productive if you can catch your breath for a moment and take a look around and within. 

First, how have the company’s priorities changed since the start of the year, and what does that mean for how you should spend your time? For example, if your company’s top leaders are prioritizing employee engagement, how does that affect the way you manage your own team?

Next, what changes have you personally experienced in the past few months — for example, going back to work in the office — and how have they affected your stress level? Remember that your executive presence is tightly linked to your internal wellbeing. In other words, feeling exhausted and overwhelmed will make it tough to exude a calm and confident demeanor that is so important for leaders to show right now.

What Do You Want to Take Forward?

Even if this has been a difficult year so far, notice what has worked well. What have you accomplished and what strategies made the biggest difference in achieving those results? It’s too easy to overlook your personal best practices if you’re moving quickly from one thing to the next. But when you pause, you can identify and leverage them to create positive momentum.

Here are a few examples to spark your own thinking:

• Regularly scheduling time to connect with people who give you energy.

• Getting involved in projects that develop your skills and leverage your strengths

• Engaging in activities that are fulfilling.

• Delegating at home and at work.

What Do You Want to Leave Behind?

Now let’s look at the other side of the coin: the challenges of 2022. What are the top two challenges you have faced and what have they taught you? For example, was there a type of situation you don’t want to find yourself in again, a behavior you want to change or emotional baggage you want to leave behind? 

A good way to distill meaning from challenging situations or roadblocks is to write a thank-you note (for your eyes only) to the difficult person or experience. By doing this, it will force you to reframe the negative aspects of the situation into positive lessons. 

What Do You Need to Do for Yourself?

You may have a to-do list that is a mile long, but how often do you make it onto your own list of priorities? Take a moment to identify what you need right now. If you honestly don’t know, getting more rest may be a good starting point. Other ideas could be:

• A longer break

• Regular exercise

• A flexible work schedule

• A new challenge or opportunity

Based on your answers to these questions, identify one small step you will take to set the tone for the second half of 2022. I also want to invite you to invest in your own growth and wellbeing with Newberry Solutions’ products and services, including the award-winning New Lens app.

Newberry Solutions in the News

In case you missed it, I’ve recently been featured in several top media outlets about pressing workplace issues, and we have published a new white paper. Read on for a roundup of our recent publications.

Fast Company: Starting a New Job

Are you one of the many people who have changed jobs during the Great Resignation? I wrote the article “6 simple but crucial things you must do in your first 3 months on the job” for Fast Company to help you hit the ground running in your new role. The article covers topics including building your brand as a leader, defining success and building relationships.

Forbes: Burnout, Conflict and Micromanaging

In addition to my collaboration with Fast Company, I’m excited to be a member of the Forbes Coaches Council. As part of the council, I’ve been featured with other inspiring coaches to provide strategies to address challenges that leaders are facing:

• Feeling Burned Out At Work? 13 Ways To Diagnose And Address It

• 16 Tips To Help Leaders Facilitate Virtual Conflict Resolution

• 16 Ways For New Leaders To Avoid Micromanaging Their Teams

Wall Street Journal: Asking for a Raise

What are the most important things to remember when you are asking for a raise? In the Wall Street Journal’s Women In newsletter, I shared the tactics that work for my coaching clients when they seek a pay increase. 

White Paper: Leadership Development for a Changing World

Over the past couple of years, Newberry Solutions has helped organizations develop their leaders in a business environment that’s full of upheaval and uncertainty. Through it all, we’ve seen how leadership development must evolve to keep up with these challenges. We distilled everything we learned into the white paper “Leadership Development for a Changing World.” In this free download, we explore today’s rapid changes, how they affect your organization’s leaders, and how to provide the training that your leaders need now.

I hope that these resources will support your own work as a leader. I’d love to hear your feedback and questions, and I invite you to join the conversation on LinkedIn.

4 Ways to Lead More Strategically

Have you spent the past couple of years with your head down, focused only on the latest problem to solve?

Many of us have been operating this way out of necessity during this period of constant change. But it’s time to lift your head up. No, the change isn’t stopping. However, thinking only in the short term will cause you to miss valuable opportunities. If you’re out of practice in looking beyond immediate concerns, here are a few ways to get back in the habit of taking a wider perspective and being more strategic.

Photo by Behnam Norouzi on Unsplash

1. Adjust Your Calendar

Focusing on the right work is the most powerful thing you can do for the long-term health of both your organization and your career. So take a quick pause right now to jot down the three critical areas where you make the biggest impact on the business. Have your “big three” changed over the past couple of years? And does your calendar reflect what your strategic priorities need to be right now? If not, how can you make more room in your schedule for your most important work? For example, maybe there’s a task you can delegate to someone on your team to both free up capacity for you and help your team member develop a new skill. Or perhaps you can change a weekly meeting to biweekly. While you’re working with your calendar, schedule some regular time for strategic reflection. Even 10-15 minutes per week can help you course correct if you get distracted from the big picture.

2. Think Beyond Your Role

Silos are a big problem in many organizations. And in times when resources are scarce, it’s even easier to become territorial and think only in terms of your team or department. But you’ll be a more effective leader, and more likely to get promoted, if you become known as someone who considers the good of the entire organization, not just your own area. Think about relationships you’d like to build across departments. Who are the colleagues in other areas who can help you get things done — or whom you would simply like to learn from? Also think about how often you present ideas that go beyond your current role. What insights or suggestions could you share that would benefit the organization as a whole?

3. Look for the Deeper Issue

Does it feel like you keep putting out the same fires over and over again? Then use some of the reflection time we talked about above to try to identify the root cause of these crises — and how you can stop them from repeating. For example, maybe you’ve just lost yet another team member during the Great Resignation. The short-term solution is finding someone to replace them. The longer-term solution is determining why people keep leaving and making changes to help retain them.

4. Remember to ‘Connect the Dots’

Leading strategically is only part of the equation. You also have to communicate to others that you are focused on the big picture. For example, it may seem obvious to you how your suggestion that benefits your department also helps the organization as a whole. But others may not see that unless you “connect the dots” for them. Even just using the words “strategy” and “strategic” more in your communications can help others understand your motivations.

Which one of these ideas can you use this week to better balance short-term problems with long-term priorities? Remember, we have a wealth of tools you can draw on, no matter what leadership challenges you are facing. You may be especially interested in our new white paper, “Leadership Development for a Changing World,” which explores the demands that leaders face now and the development opportunities they need to succeed in today’s hectic work environment.

Leadership Development for a Changing World

It’s been only a couple of years since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. But it feels like we’ve all gone through at least a couple of decades’ worth of change since then.

Through our work with some of the world’s top companies, we at Newberry Solutions have seen firsthand the effect of this upheaval and uncertainty on organizations and the leaders who drive their success.

What we are all experiencing is nothing less than a transformation in how we work and what organizations are asking of their leaders. As our work environment dramatically changes, so, too, must leadership development.

That’s why we’re excited to share with you our response to these new challenges. “Leadership Development for a Changing World” is a white paper that explains why and how your leadership development efforts must evolve.

We’re eager to hear your feedback and questions after you read the report. Please feel free to tag me in your LinkedIn posts about this report or contact us directly at info@newlensleadership.com. At the heart of all we do is our passionate belief that leaders can change the world when we cultivate their full potential. And that’s what we hope this white paper empowers you to do. Start reading now at https://www.newberrysolutions.com/white-paper.

Flexible Work Schedules: The Unwritten Rules — 2022 Update

I first published this article about how to lead successfully when you have a flexible work schedule almost three years ago. Of course, a lot has changed since then! The pandemic dramatically accelerated the trend toward flexible scheduling. What hasn’t changed are the “unwritten rules” for sending the right messages about your leadership when you are working a flexible schedule. Today, I want to update my strategies on how you can do that in our dramatically reshaped work environment.

Demands for Flexibility Grow

When I originally wrote this article, it was already becoming clear that flexible scheduling was on the rise and that it was especially important to women. One study found that having flexible hours reduced the wage gap between working moms and women who don't have children. We were also starting to see how flexible schedules support women's ambitions. At companies with flexible work arrangements, more high-potential women aspire to the senior executive/CEO level compared with firms without such arrangements.

Since the pandemic, professionals, especially women, have been loud and clear in voicing their desire for flexible work schedules. One survey found that two-thirds of employees would consider changing jobs if they had to go back to the office full time. Harvard Business Review calls flexibility the “key to retaining women.”

But while women want flexibility at work, we also can feel hesitancy about taking advantage of it. Many women worry that nontraditional working arrangements will keep them from getting promoted.

So how can we balance the benefits of flexible work schedules with being an effective leader?

Managing Assumptions and Expectations

Working fully or partially from home and working unconventional hours have become more common and more accepted during the pandemic. But that doesn’t mean everyone is on board.

You may still run into others' perceptions of what a typical workday should look like and what it says about you when you're doing something different.

During my last executive role at Deloitte, I incorporated some informal flexibility into my schedule. Some of my team members were in different time zones, and I had a 2-year-old son at home. So, it made sense for me to leave the office a little earlier in the afternoon, go home to spend some time with my son and then do some more work after he went to bed.

This was great for managing both my personal and professional priorities. But because of my after-hours emails, some of my team members, especially those in other cities, thought I worked nonstop and all the time. Even worse, they thought I expected them to keep similar long hours, which just wasn't the case.

The Hidden Messages in After-Hours Emails

As I discovered, when people get an email from you that has a time stamp that is outside regular business hours, it raises questions. I remember discussing this with a couple of clients, one who often works a few hours late at night and the other who starts before her small children wake up, often sending her first emails before 7 a.m.

Neither of these clients feels overworked or overwhelmed. In fact, they are well in control of their schedules and are far from burnout. But the optics of their email habits convey a different message to people who don’t understand their schedules. Their team members may assume (as my former colleagues did) that they:

• Are constantly checking email

• Expect their teams to work well beyond regular business hours

• Are approaching burnout and are up at all hours working

• Can’t effectively manage their workload, delegate or ask for help

If you put yourself in others’ shoes for a minute and reflect about your own behavior, what might it say to people about you?

Communicate Clearly About Your Schedule

Especially as we continue to experience an unpredictable work environment, don't leave it to others to draw their own conclusions about your capabilities or your stress level. Consider proactively sharing how the strategies you’ve implemented increase your productivity and effectiveness as a leader. Remember that most people have difficulty working in a way that is sustainable and sharing your approach may give them permission to start making changes.

That's what I did with my colleagues at Deloitte. When I realized that they thought I never unplugged, I knew that I needed to explain my approach and “connect the dots” for them. I told them that I wasn't always working — and that I didn't expect them to, either. I also encouraged them to adapt their schedules to fit their own needs (as long as business needs were also met).

But sometimes you may have to tweak your approach to better fit the culture. For example, if you frequently send emails outside of normal business hours, you may inadvertently set an expectation that others have to change the hours they work to accommodate you. So, unless it’s urgent, I suggest that you save your draft emails to send during business hours. This will reinforce your commitment to everyone working in a way that honors their personal and professional priorities. With burnout on the rise, that’s something your team really needs.

I want to challenge you to take 5-10 minutes to identify the assumptions people may be making about you, based on how you work. Are they taking away the right messages about your leadership? 

If you’re looking for ways that your organization can develop and support leaders as they navigate the challenges of hybrid work, I invite you to schedule a demo of my New Lens app. Unlike traditional approaches, New Lens makes learning digestible through bite-sized lessons that employees can access whenever and wherever they work.

3 Ways to Build Your Personal Leadership Brand

A couple of years ago, many of us were adapting to remote work. Now we’re experiencing another period of transition. Some organizations are bringing employees back to the office full or part time. Others are making remote-work arrangements permanent. Whether you are working at the office, at home or some combination of the two, now is a good time to notice the messages you are sending other people about your personal leadership brand. 

Photo by Rebrand Cities

We tend to overlook that while we know everything we’re saying or doing at work, others don't have a full picture of what our performance looks like. They just see little snapshots of us here and there. Today, I want you to think about the snapshots that you're showing other people and how you can be more strategic about them.

1. Pay Attention to Your Body Language

Effective leaders know that body language is key to executive presence. What are you saying without speaking a word?

Working at the office: If you’ve been working remotely, you may not think much about your body language outside of video calls. But now that you are back in the office, remember that leaders are always in the “invisible spotlight.” People pay attention even when you think they are not. 

If, for example, you’re sitting in a meeting with an intense expression and arms folded, others might think you are closed off and unreceptive.  Or if you’re always rushing around the office, others could assume that you can’t handle what’s on your plate. 

As you return to the office, pay special attention to your body language and whether it conveys the messages you want to send about your personal leadership brand. This might take some extra effort at first, but should soon become second nature again.

Working from home: Your body language sends messages even through video calls. Have you fallen into any bad habits, like scheduling back-to-back Zoom meetings that leave you feeling drained? Take some time this week to focus on what your energy level looks like (slouching, yawning, difficulty focusing) and how that impacts the perception of your engagement and confidence. 

Having the right chair, desk and computer setup in your home office makes it easier to manage physical fatigue from sitting and will help you maintain a polished and professional posture on video calls. Take time to evaluate what you need.

2. Focus on Eye Contact

Eye contact is an aspect of nonverbal communication that deserves special attention. We automatically look at others’ eyes to figure out what they’re thinking and feeling and whether we can trust them.

Working at the office: If you frequently look at your phone when talking to others, it could convey a lack of interest and respect. Looking down or away can imply low confidence. On the other hand, holding direct eye contact for too long can feel intimidating.

So, what’s the right amount of eye contact to enhance your personal leadership brand? Researchers from Michigan State University recommend maintaining eye contact 50% of the time when you are speaking and 70% of the time when you are listening.

Working from home: It’s easy to forget about the importance of eye contact when you’re interacting with others on video calls instead of in person. But it still makes a big difference in how others perceive you.

Look into your webcam when speaking. When you’re listening, it’s more obvious than you might think when you sneak a peek at another screen. If the other screen is brighter, the lighting changes on your face. And if you wear glasses, they may even see the reflection of the other screen and know that you’re not paying full attention to the meeting. If you do need to look at another screen (for example, to find an email that’s relevant to the conversation), you can let others know what you’re doing so that they don’t assume you’re multitasking.

3. Be Intentional About Your Appearance

Think about the people you know who always look put together. That becomes part of their leadership brand and something that distinguishes them. How are you leveraging your appearance?

Working at the office: Are you getting used to waking up earlier and commuting again? It can be a tough transition. Give yourself enough time in the morning to get ready. Showing up at the office half-baked won’t exactly inspire confidence in your abilities.

As you head back to the office, you may also discover that your work clothes from a couple of years ago don’t fit as well or look dated. You can use this as an opportunity to evaluate your business wardrobe and align it with your personal brand as a leader. Do you want to show others that you’re creative, innovative, or ready for a promotion? You can reinforce these qualities in how you dress, accessorize, or style your hair.

Working at home: Part of presenting yourself professionally is understanding the norms of your organization, which may be different for video meetings vs. in-person work.  Look to your managers for clues about the new “dress code.” For example, perhaps you and your colleagues previously wore suits at the office. But now your managers wear polos or button-down shirts or blouses for video meetings, but not T-shirts. Use that information to guide your choices.

You can also look more professional during video calls by improving your home-office setup. Quality lighting helps you look more awake and energized. The distance you sit from your camera can also affect how you look.

Like it or not, the way you present yourself plays a big role in how others perceive your personal leadership brand. But it's also one of the easiest areas to make positive changes – and you can have fun with it. What is one step you will take this week to be more deliberate about the snapshots that you show other people?

Want more strategies like these? This article was adapted from our New Lens app for leadership development. New Lens delivers bite-size lessons and immediately useful action steps so that you can make learning a part of even the busiest workdays. Schedule your demo now.

New Lens Video Series: A Quick Way to Reduce Frustration

Are you carrying around resentment and frustration right now? Maybe someone has angered or disappointed you and you just can’t seem to let it go. Or perhaps there’s a situation that comes up again and again — draining your energy every time it does. In today’s video, I share the words that help me take a new perspective when I feel stuck in frustration. They’re simple, but transformative. And they’ll help you open the door to more creative thinking and problem solving.

If you’re enjoying this video series, you’ll also like our New Lens app. Like my videos, the New Lens app is about seeing yourself, helping others see you, and leading through a new lens. And, just as my videos do, my app will give you quick strategies that you can start using immediately to become an even more effective leader. 

3 Questions to Help You Shape Your Legacy

It's Women's History Month 2020, a time to celebrate the legacies of women who have shaped our country. It's also a valuable opportunity to think about what you want your own legacy to be.

With our days so busy, we rarely get a chance to think about big-picture questions like this one. But considering what you will leave behind is one of the most motivating things you can do. These three questions can be a starting point to thinking about what you want your legacy to be.

1. What three things would you want someone to say about you over the long-term?

Think about this question in terms of both what you do and how you do it. Your answers will probably overlap with your desired brand and your "Big 3": the areas where you can have the biggest impact at work.

If you aren't sure how to answer this question, think about the ripple effect you could start right now — in your company, family or community. What kinds of activities get you excited? What is one thing you can do to put your passion and strengths to work?

Here are some possible answers that might spark ideas for you:

• Seeing the potential in others: The best thing anyone could say about me is that I recognize the power of helping people see and tap into who they really are, and I consistently stretch and challenge them to realize their potential.

• Mentorship: I want to be known as a mentor, someone who always makes it a priority to help the next generation of leaders navigate challenges in their careers. I am not afraid to share tough feedback, because it’s a gift – to increase their self-awareness and help them be successful.

• Servant leadership: I'd like to be recognized as someone who sees the power of one person making a difference. In particular, others would say that I consistently provide support to family, friends, and colleagues and invest time in my community by serving on nonprofit boards.

2. How aligned are your time and energy with your desired legacy?

Track your time for two to three weeks at a high level, paying particular attention to how much time you dedicate to what you want to be part of your legacy. If you're like most of us, your schedule won’t fully align with your priorities. 

Notice the difference between your time and effort and its overall impact. How you can shift the balance toward the things that matter? Identify one or two strategies to help you. What can you delegate? How else can you ask for help? Researchers have found we spent more than 40% of our days on low-value tasks we could easily hand off.

This exercise to think about your legacy may also inspire you to manage your time more effectively. We all get lured away by the various demands on our time. To stop from getting sidetracked, check out my tips to minimize distraction.

3. What one action will you take this week toward the legacy you want to leave?

The word "legacy" can be intimidating. Remember, though, that no one creates their legacy overnight. Everything starts with one small step. What one small step can you take to start moving you closer to the impact you want to have? Here are a few ideas:

• Say “no” to something that doesn’t fit.

• Provide words of encouragement to someone else.

• Make just one different everyday choice.

• Notice a mindset that has been holding you back, and replace that negative talk-track with something more positive.

• Meet with someone who can advise you on that idea you've always wanted to pursue.

Whatever you want your legacy to be, visit my website to learn more about how we can help you get there with corporate programs and apps, executive coaching, self-paced tools or free resources from Newberry Executive Solutions.

New Lens Video Series: When It All Feels Too Much

Over the past couple of years, we’ve all faced some big challenges. If you’re in the middle of a challenge or problem right now, and you’re not sure how to even start tackling it, today’s video is for you. In it, I share with you some familiar words that I recently saw through a new lens — right when I needed to take their message to heart.

I’d love to hear what insights this topic inspires for you. And if you’re enjoying this video series, you may also want to check out our New Lens app. Like my videos, the New Lens app is all about helping you see yourself, helping others see you and leading through a new lens. And, just as my videos do, my app will give you quick strategies that you can start using immediately to become an even more effective leader. 

Celebrating International Women’s Day — and You

Today is International Women’s Day. This event is a “global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.”

International Women’s Day reminds us that we can do so much more to make our workplaces equitable for women. According to McKinsey & Company:

• For every 100 men who receive a promotion to manager, only 86 women do.

• More than 40% of women surveyed say they often or almost always feel burned out. 

• Women are more likely to experience microaggressions than men are.

But, as we work for parity, let’s also remember to honor and appreciate what women are accomplishing every day. We’ve taken on so much over the past couple of years. We’ve worked hard for our teams, our families and for causes we care about. Sometimes that work feels invisible and thankless.

Today, let’s change that. How can you express gratitude to the creative, resilient and caring women in your world? Don’t forget to include yourself! Honor all you have accomplished, even in the face of great odds, and all that you do.

Get the Support You Need

But don’t stop there. What’s one thing you can do to support the women you know as these uncertain times continue? Again, this includes supporting yourself, too. 

Sometimes the best support is just connecting with someone else. We’re all working so hard that it’s easy to put relationships on the back burner. And that means a lot of us are feeling lonely right now. So, it’s a good time to reach out and make some plans with the women in your network. Even better, make some recurring plans. Taking a walk with a friend this weekend might lift your spirits. But then if you immediately fall back out of touch again, you’re right back where you started. Making your weekend walk a regular date ensures that you can give each other ongoing support.

It’s also important to allow others to help you. This can make you feel vulnerable, but it’s so worth it. As I’ve talked about before, you can even get very specific about how others can best help you in times of stress. For example, tell a friend, “If you see that I am doing X, it would really help me if you say Y.”

Before you dive back into your day, take a moment to check in with yourself: Are you getting the support you need? What kind of support could you really use in your life right now? And what is one thing you could do to start moving things in that direction?

When you think about your sources of support, please remember that I am always in your corner. You can follow me on social media for more content about Women’s History Month, consider executive coaching with me or explore my self-paced tools, including the award-winning New Lens app.

New Lens Video Series: Women’s History Month

Today is March 1, which means it’s time to start celebrating Women’s History Month. The theme of this year’s observance is “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope.” As the National Women’s History Alliance explains, this month is a chance to honor all the women who “listen, ease suffering, restore dignity, and make decisions for our general as well as our personal welfare.” And I know that includes a lot of you!

In my latest New Lens video, I share one small action you can take today for Women’s History Month that will have a powerful impact. Stay tuned to Newberry Executive Solutions for more Women’s History Month content throughout March.

New Lens Video Series: Popcorn and Perspective

Today I’m kicking off a new feature, the New Lens Video Series. Like my New Lens app, this video series is all about helping you see yourself, helping others see you and leading through a new lens. And, just as the New Lens app does, these videos will give you quick strategies that you can start using immediately to become an even more effective leader. 

The insight I’m sharing with you today has what might seem like an unlikely inspiration: a bag of burnt popcorn. So what does popcorn have to do with leadership? Watch the video to find out.